Tidö government: Brå and Ivo to investigate sexual abuse in home care

Over the past year, numerous cases where staff in home care have assaulted elderly individuals have come to light and sparked outrage. The situation has prompted the government and the Sweden Democrats to take action.

To strengthen the safety and security of the elderly in elder care, the government is tasking the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention (Brå) and the Health and Social Care Inspectorate (Ivo) with separate assignments. Brå will map out crimes in elder care, while Ivo is tasked with strengthening oversight within elder care.

“The elderly must be able to feel safe and secure with the staff they let into their own homes. That is why we are getting to the bottom of crimes in elder care,” says Minister for the Elderly and Social Insurance Anna Tenje (M).

Brå’s assignment is to map what types of crimes are committed against the elderly within elder care and to analyze risk factors, gender differences in vulnerability, as well as whether the crimes are noticed and reported to the police. Based on the findings, the authority will, if necessary, propose measures.

Ivo will strengthen oversight within elder care, which will include reviewing how social welfare boards and organizations prevent, detect, and address risks and shortcomings, as well as whether the measures taken remedy the deficiencies.

Priority issue

The Tidö government describes elder care as a priority issue and, in light of the crimes within elder care that have been highlighted, continues its work to ensure that the elderly can live safely.

The government has previously implemented several measures to strengthen security for the elderly, including new provisions permitting exceptions to confidentiality and proposed legislative changes so that as of March 1, municipalities can request extracts from the criminal and suspicion registers when hiring staff in elder care.